DG Symbols and Trivia
DG Symbols
The founding members of Delta Gamma chose "Hope" as their watchword. The first badge was a gold letter "H" with the Greek Letters Delta Gamma on the cross bar. In 1877, the Golden Anchor badge that we know today replaced the original "H" badge. The anchor was chosen because it is the traditional symbol for hope, the watchword of our three founders. The founders selected the motto: "Do Good" even before the Greek Letters Delta Gamma were selected to represent our fraternity.
The golden anchor, our official badge, is worn only by initiated members. It is entwined by a section of gold cable. The Greek letters, Tau Delta Eta, appear in gold on white enamel on the crossbar. Above the flukes of the anchor is a white-enameled shield bearing in gold the Greek letters, Delta Gamma.
The new member pin is a white enameled shield bearing the Greek letters, Pi Alpha, in gold. It is received by a new member at the start of their new member persuit, and is returned to the chapter prior to initiation.
The crest, or coat-of-arms of Delta Gamma Fraternity, has special meaning to its members, and may only be used by initiated members. The colors of the crest are cream for the rose at the apex of the crest; gold for the three five-pointed stars on the shield, the rope around the shield and outline of the scroll ribbon; burnt maize for Greek letters, Tau Delta Eta; blue for the lower two-thirds of the shield; green for the upper third and center of the shield; and rose for the Greek letters Delta Gamma which appear on the center section.
Our flower is the cream-colored rose, called the Delta Gamma Cream Rose. We are the only Panhellenic group to have their flower registered with the American Rose Association.
The colors of our Fraternity are bronze, pink, and blue. In Delta Gamma's early days, the colors were only pink and blue, but bronze was added to avoid confusion between DG and Beta Theta Pi, whose colors were also pink and blue.
DG Trivia
Delta Gamma is/was:
* The first fraternity to establish an independent philanthropic foundation in Ohio, 1951.
* The first and only fraternity to sponsor traveling art exhibits, ART OF THE EYE and ART OF THE EYE II, to benefit Service for Sight.
* One of the seven original women's groups that began the National Panhellenic Conference.
* The first Panhellenic group to build its own facility, the Delta Gamma Executive Offices, located in Columbus, Ohio.
* The first fraternity to establish lectureships on campuses to promote discussion in values and ethics.
* The first women's fraternity to employ an archivist at its Executive Offices.
* The first women's fraternity to create a health and wellness program by employing a coordinator of resource development at the Executive Offices.
* The first recipient of the Helen Keller Philanthropic Service Award, given by the American Foundation for the Blind, for assistance to those who are blind and for Sight Conservation.
* The first women's fraternity to have an in-house printing press to create handbooks, pamphlets, stationery and the ANCHORA®, the official Fraternity journal.